Response from Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia

October 15, 2007

Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia

WCC welcomes letter from Muslim leaders

“This letter is most welcome,” said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, especially at a time when “all of humanity is looking to religious leaders for guidance as to how to respond to the situation of violence in the world”. Kobia was commenting on the letter “A Common Word between Us and You,” saying that it “gives a lot of hope”.

With the signature of some 140 Muslim leaders, the letter was addressed to a number of world Christian leaders including Kobia last week, and arrived on the occasion of “Eid al-Fitr al-Mubarak”, the festivity that marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslims’ holiest month.

According to Kobia, the letter “is significant in that it is signed by such a large group of Muslim leaders and scholars from around the world, which makes it unprecedented. Such a rare unity of purpose gives a lot of hope as to what people of faith can achieve together.”

The WCC general secretary stressed that “the timing of this letter is also important. Today all of humanity is looking to religious leaders for guidance as to how to respond to the situation of violence in the world.”

Kobia affirmed that “the WCC is ready to cooperate with those who have sent this letter by participating in putting together a concrete process to implement what is being suggested.”

With over 30 years of work in interreligious relations and dialogue, the WCC is today turning its emphasis to a cooperation which strives to constructively address religion-fuelled conflicts in contemporary plural societies.